At today's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) questioned Charles Kushner, nominee to be Ambassador to France.
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00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:03Mr. Kushner, there's no doubt that you have been a successful businessman.
00:08You have a compelling personal story and obviously a very successful family.
00:13But you also have been convicted of a felony pleading guilty to 16 counts,
00:19including tax fraud lying to the Federal Election Commission
00:24and retaliating against a cooperating witness for which you spent two years in prison.
00:30So can you speak to how you reassure this committee and the American public
00:37about your judgment to be able to manage one of the most important embassies
00:42and relationships in America in terms of our allies and our history?
00:49First, let me say I respect the question.
00:52I understand the question.
00:53I respect the question highly.
00:55And it's a question I would ask as well.
00:57Well, my misjudgment and mistake was over 20 years ago.
01:03Since then, I've been pardoned by President Trump.
01:06But I don't sit here before you today and tell you I'm a perfect person.
01:12I am not a perfect person.
01:13I made a very, very, very serious mistake.
01:17And I paid a very heavy price for that mistake.
01:19My wife paid a heavy price.
01:22My children paid a heavy price.
01:24But since then, I look at life as a balance sheet.
01:34And many of us have assets.
01:37Many of us have liabilities.
01:39And I have liabilities for sure.
01:42And the mistake I made in the past is one of my many liabilities.
01:45But I also like to think of my life in context that I've had a lot of assets.
01:51My wife and I have given away over $100 million of our own money to charities for children, hospitals, education, and a whole bunch of other worthy causes.
02:01And I think that at the end of the day, there's only one accountant I trust that I believe in, and it's God.
02:09And God's going to assess my assets and liabilities and see how my balance sheet weighs.
02:16In terms of my past bad judgment and my future judgment or my current judgment, because you're correct, it is a big responsibility, this ambassadorship, as it is for all of us.
02:29But I think that my past mistakes actually make me better with my judgment, better in my view of life, better in my values, to really make me more qualified to do this job maybe if I hadn't been on top of a mountain and fell off that mountain at some point in my life.
02:51So thank you for raising it, and it's an issue that I'm sure is on a lot of people's mind that they don't have the courage to raise it.
03:00So thank you.
03:02And it's an example also for my grandchildren who are sitting here today that if you make mistakes, you have to admit your mistakes, and you have to go on with your life and make it productive and worthwhile.
03:17Well, thank you for that frank response.
03:21Also, just to follow up, your nomination is being advanced.
03:25Excuse me.
03:27Through the committee at relatively a quick pace for this committee, because you were nominated in February, but the committee only recently received your financial disclosure, which is quite lengthy.
03:38So do you commit to continuing to respond promptly and fully to any additional questions that the committee has about that financial disclosure?
03:47Yes, without a doubt, I will respond and follow the guidance of the committee as to what I should be doing and not doing by way of divestiture and relinquishing responsibilities.
03:59Thank you very much, Mr. Walsh, the Good Friday Agreement facilitates cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
04:09And what do you think should be the role of the U.S. to help be a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreements and supporting this cross-island engagement?
04:21Because clearly, it's going to be critical to maintain the relationship both between the U.S. and Ireland and Northern Ireland.
04:33Thank you, Senator.
04:35It is a great question, but before I answer that, I just want to say that meeting with your team was really great, and I want to thank them for information that they gave me also.
04:44Good. Thank you.
04:45This also is or has been in the past a complicated situation, but today the U.S. has played such an important role in the Good Friday Agreement in the past that I think today it's just going to continue that strong support.
05:01I do plan on also meeting with Ambassador Stevenson a few times to actually discuss with him and keep that line open, and I think the communication is the key to this whole issue.
05:14I think just understanding it, meeting with people, and keeping that agreement going, basically.
05:21And I think we certainly have all the support of all of you on this agreement, and I'd be glad to meet with anybody at any time if there's any issues.
05:27And as soon as there is something that comes up, I will let you know.
05:32But I'm with you on it.
05:34It's a very, very important part, and I know a lot of senators in the past certainly have spent a lot of time and effort on this, and we want to continue that support.
05:43Well, thank you.
05:44As you point out, there are a lot of Americans of Irish descent who are watching this very closely as well.
05:50Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:51One of the things that Chairman Risch did not point out is that we're in the middle of a vote, and so people are going back and forth to vote.
05:58So that's why I will be leaving to go vote and be back shortly.